Wednesday, March 4, 2015

#WriterRecharge Final Check-in

I'm a few days late, but that's the way I roll.  Here's how I did:

  • WRITE/REVISE – I want to finish my current WIP this month.  I wrote a solid chunk of it last November, and I've been plugging away every day since, but I have several sticky plot points that I keep dancing around instead of solving.  I'm not quite done with my WIP, but I have figured out some of the tricky parts that were worrying me.  I'm up to about 86,000 words.  I expect the first draft will probably balloon up to around 100,000, then shrink back down to 80,000 or so once I edit my first-draft ramblings.  Overall, I'm pleased with the progress I've made here this month.
  • READ/REREAD - I'd like to read something written in the seventeenth century, since that's when my WIP is set.  I do well with sideways inspiration like that.  I read a lot (A LOT) of these in college, and I think it's time to revisit some Moliere.  He wrote later in the century than when my book is set, but for court life, who is more fun?  I also ordered a book called The Travels of Olearius in Seventeenth-Century Russia that will be interesting to read (let's hope).  I read NOTHING set in the seventeenth century this month!  But my Travels of Olearius should be arriving towards the end of this week, and I'll get to work reading that.  I did read a lot of terrific books this month, but it was a bit of a break from YA.  I enjoy that break from time to time to enrich other areas of interest in my life (reading books along with my husband, reading about home organization or parenting, catching up on issues in my church, keeping up with my book clubs' choices, and diving into thick and meaty adult fiction).
  • STRETCH - I'm trying to be grateful this month instead of frustrated with how stuck I feel in certain areas of life.  Is it sad that gratitude is a stretch for me?  YES.  But here I go.  The book I read about tidying (review forthcoming) actually helped me focus on gratitude this month. I have a lot of wonderful things happening in my life, even if I haven't lost weight or made my fortune.
  • SELF - It's 68 degrees here today, and I am going for a bike ride!  Swimming and biking outside make me happy. I fit in several bike rides this month before winter belatedly hit.  I didn't miss any of my weight training sessions all month (an hour twice a week).  
  • CONNECT - I want to make more of an effort to reach out to my friends this month.  Now that my kids are in school, it's too easy for me to cocoon and text instead of meeting up.  This is an ongoing project for me.  I did attend the lunches and brunches I was invited to, and I had some nice chats with family on the phone, but I didn't initiate anything other than my little guy's birthday party.
  • FUN - We've booked dinner at a fancy-pants restaurant with some of our favorite couples at the end of the month for Denver's Restaurant Week!  We had a snafu with our reservation and ended up at a European fusion restaurant that mostly fused schnitzel, but the food was decent (the baked brie was out of this world) and the company was fantastic.  I am very grateful for so many good friends.  They bring a lot of joy and laughter into my life.

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